Black Cat
by EllaColette
Summary: Deidara was a stupid boy, a stupid, stupid, stupid boy according to Iwagakure's "ice princess", Leiko. But at the end of the day when she lay in her bed, she had realized that maybe it was she who was the stupid one, having befriended him in the first place. And having done so could be the downfall of life as she had known it. (DeidaraxOC)
1. Chapter 1

When her father had chosen to relocate to Iwagakure, Leiko was sure that he hadn't taken into account the village's proximity to the sun. And on this particular afternoon, the blistering heat relentlessly ate away at the last of the girl's milky flesh, singeing it to a painful red. She blew at the bangs that bristled the tip of her nose to no avail; she growled, finding them matted to her forehead by a thickening veil of sweat.

She turned her attention to the worn ball and cried out as she swiftly kicked it into the towering white walls that enclosed her home. It had become a habit of hers, mercilessly kicking away her harbored rage at the old thing until she was seemingly content. As the deflating ball lolled back to her foot, she was overtaken by a fit of rage and with extreme force, thrashed the ball so harshly that, upon impact, it slung into the air and right up over the fence.

She was rooted in place in mild surprise but at the sound of a weak _"thump, thump,"_ Leiko's irritation bubbled back to the surface. She huffed in frustration, sauntering to the fence and yanking her stockings up so that they hugged firmly to her legs. She leaped up so that her small hands managed to grasp onto the edge of the fence, and with much effort, scraped elbows and scuffed knees, she managed to heave herself up so that she could straddle the top of the cement wall.

She smirked triumphantly to herself, pleased with her success. She then turned herself around and cautiously lowered herself to the ground on the opposite side of the fence.

Her smirk faltered to a frown as she turned to take in her surroundings. This had been the first time in months that she had stepped beyond the refuge of her manor and what she beheld was hardly to her liking.

Her eyes flickered from one thing to the next in disapproval, quickly confirming her belief that she was better off without the dull, outside world. Without further distraction, she set out to find the whereabouts of that old kick ball.

Initially, the girl was surprised that she did not immediately locate the pitiful thing waiting for her just mere feet from the barrier to her home. It took no time at all for this surprise to turn to annoyance with the nettled realization that the ball would not be found easily. She set off to search for it, muttering _"stupid, stupid, stupid thing..."_ beneath her breath all the while.

She suddenly jolted, caught by surprise, when boisterous laughter jingled through the air from just the other side of a tree that lined the clay path. Turning from the tall grass she had been filing through, Leiko turned her attention to a certain blonde haired boy who wore this fox-like grin on his face. But he hardly kept her attention at all, for in his hands was the pathetic ball she was looking for.

The boy's visible eye glittered impishly as he tossed the ball up and down in his hand. He bothered her, he irked her, although Leiko couldn't exactly figure out why. Her face twitched with displeasure as she approached the boy standing promptly before him, arms folded across her flat expanse of chest.

"Well," she said slowly and the boy's brow raised along with the corner of his lips. She held out a hand. "Give me back my ball." She was taken aback when the only response she received was a roar of laughter.

When the boy collected himself, wiping a tear from his eye, he grinned madly and said, "No!" He laughed again. "Someone as reckless as you doesn't deserve to play with objects of destruction!"

Leiko's brow furrowed, hardly able to hold back her ever growing irritation. She opened her mouth to speak only to be cut off by the boy unexpectedly tossing the ball at her. She managed to catch it before it pelted her in the face, yet she stumbled a few steps back at the intensity of the throw. She glowered at the boy who seemed to be preoccupied with scooping up shards from the ground.

Mildly curious, Leiko crouched down beside him, watching as he pocketed the fragments. His visible eye flickered to her ponderous face as his own scrunched slowly into that of agitation.

"Wha do ya want? Haven't you done enough?" he muttered, an action that caused Leiko to abruptly stand upright, snapping her nose high in disdain. The boy was hardly amused by the way he rolled his eyes. "You really don't see what you have done?" Though Leiko wanted nothing more to do with the boy signified by the way she haughtily turned her attention directly away from the blonde. He shook his head and muttered words that would make Leiko's mother flush. Yet she was amused, never having met someone so young with such a foul mouth, and returned her attention to the boy who was fishing through his leg pouch. He flashed her this proud grin before holding out a small crudely sculpted clay bird on the palm of his bandaged hand.

Her interest flicked between the figurine and the beaming boy, briefly scrutinizing both. "It's not very good," she commented resulting in a look of pure rage from the blonde. The expression her bore reminded Leiko much of herself-short and ill-tempered-and she fell into a fit of laughter which caused the boy's countenance to falter to a frown. As she came to, Leiko smirked as she declared, "You should be thanking me! I did you a favor by smashing those things with my ball!" The fury reappeared but before the boy could unleash his wrath, he was caught off guard by Leiko snatching the figurine from his hand. "How about you impress me next time? I'm gonna use this," she shook the figurine in her hand, "as reference for your _lack_ of artistic abilities."

He blinked owlishly once before that fox-like grin graced his face once more, his eye shimmering with mix of mischief and determination. He held his hand out to Leiko. "Challenge accepted, yeah!" He tilted his head to the side, revealing the portion of his face that had been hidden behind his hair. "The name's Deidara!"

Leiko mirrors the action, one hand hooked on her hip and a smirk tugging at her lips. "Leiko." And they shook.

With nothing further to say, Leiko pocketed Deidara's bird and snatched her discarded ball from the ground, tossing it over the fence. She struggled to follow after it, pausing on the top of the wall again this time to glance back to the tree where she met Deidara. He stood under its shade, watching her, clearly amused, and she scoffed yet smirked at him before slinking back to the other side, again within her manor walls.

She absentmindedly brushed her fingers against the smooth clay figurine in her pocket as she recollects the previous scenario. A hint of a smile _(not_ a smirk) tilted her lips up at one end, and for once, she left the old ball to itself and headed inside.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTES**

****Deidara, for the sake of the fic, will be aged older than the canon timeline. I'm sorry for any inconsistencies but it's a fic about romance and I don't generally enjoy writing about lovers at such a young age...Anyhow, please provide me with some much appreciated feedback! Thank you,

EC


	2. Chapter 2

As the months elapsed, Leiko and Deidara would meet just outside her manor's gates beneath that very tree of their first encounter. They would sit there, she criticizing his latest creation and he, seemingly never content with her opinions, would merely shrug it off and call her a "stupid girl." Regardless of what was exchanged, Leiko always managed to pocket the piece of art before she would hop the wall surrounding her manor, managing to return home just before dinner.

They never missed a day, Leiko realized, until one afternoon, she of course found that Deidara was late. She stood alone beneath the shade of the tree, arms folded across her flat chest and foot stomping impatiently. She never noticed how unbearable the heat really was when she wasn't preoccupied with the frisky blonde's shenanigans. She blew at the bangs swept across her forehead finding that they were beginning to stick to her flesh, dampened by sweat. She growled to herself in annoyance, sliding down the tree and taking a seat at it's base.

He was running late because he had slept the day away after a long night spent awake with mischief, she proposed, absentmindedly tugging at loose strings on the edge of her sleeve. She glanced down the road, hoping that he might appear like a summoned apparition. She sighed, disappointed to find that the only company besides the shade of the tree was a group of girls who seemed to also have noticed Leiko.

"Well," the one she proposed was the group's leader said, hands on hips as she stopped before Leiko.  
"Look girls, the princess has emerged from the palace!" The way she shared a sneer with her friends made Leiko realize that these girls simply were not company of good taste. "Tell me, princess," the leader went on, "what could possibly be of importance to _you, _outside of your kingdom?"

Leiko replied sourly with a huff, "if you must know, I'm waiting for a friend."

The girls began to snicker as if the concept of Iwagakure's "ice princess" having relationships, much less friends, outside of the confines of her manor was too much to grasp. "Impossible," the girl laughed, "how could someone like you ever have friends when you and your family hold your heads so high, no one but yourselves can be heard?" Leiko scoffed, recalling just why she had ostracized herself from the outside world in the first place.

Leiko's family had previously resided in a small village just north of the Water Country, Aisu Mura. The village was home to perhaps only five clans, one of which being that of her own. The village was prosperous, despite the fact that the majority of the year it was shrouded with a thick blanket of snow making agriculture difficult. But that wasn't a concern of the village's inhabitants. Beneath the ice and thick layers of rock were crystal caverns Leiko's clan, the Soseki's, had found. They cultivated these mines, bringing awesome wealth to themselves and their entire village. The village was not that different from Iwagakure in that they both were dreary residencies. However, the difference lied in the mannerisms where Leiko had grown in a village that was accustomed to flashing their wealth whereas Iwagakure was more proud of the strength of their shinobi (and also, a lack of snow.) So when the head family of the Soseki clan relocated to Iwagakure for business, they became quite the spectacle upon their arrival, much to Leiko's displeasure. With an aversion to her new villages inhabitants, those who viciously gossiped and disrespected her family, Leiko not only grew short tempered and sharp-tongued but disconnected from the outsiders and stowed herself away in the family manor. This action only drew more bitter rumors from the gossipers' mouths, claiming that Leiko was a proud, arrogant little girl and crowned her the title of the "ice princess."

But they were right, Leiko thought to herself, she _was_ proud. Too proud to allow these girls' rudeness to affect her. So she smirked, brushing off their comments. "You're right," she said to the girls' mild surprise. "I wasn't waiting for a friend. Just for a _stupid_ boy who spends too much time playing with clay."

The sneer on the leader's face wavered and she glowered at Leiko. "All the same," she spat, "boys like _Deidara-kun_ don't have time for a high-maintenance girl like you." She flipped her orange hair over her shoulder. "He'd rather spend time with someone like me, a _kunoichi_!" She flicked at the hitai-ate dangling loosely from her neck. "You're only gonna hold him back, being unable to fend for yourself. Until you get one of these for yourself, you'll never be worthy of Deidara." The girls all chimed in their agreement at which Leiko simply rolled her eyes too.

Growing tired of the confrontation, Leiko took a stray rock and managed to pelt the leader square in the forehead. At the girl's astonishment, she smirked again. "Listen, why don't you and your 'kunoichi' friends get going," she suggested. "I have no time for your 'ninja nonsense.'" The girls fumed, the leader's mouth opening to retort. "However, if you do insist on hanging around, prepare yourselves," Leiko warned, "although I'm no kunoichi, I certainly have a temper that will put your strength to shame, and my patience for a certain artist is wearing quite thin..."

The girls didn't wish to decipher whether or not Leiko's claim was a bluff or not and chose to continue on their way, muttering all the while to themselves. Leiko sighed, relieved to be left to her own devices. Just then, Deidara slipped from the other side of the tree, seemingly annoyed at Leiko. She raised her brow in question.

"A stupid boy who plays with clay?" he grumbled, taking a seat beside her.

She gave him a look for eavesdropping before she shook her head, a small smile taking place on her countenance. She rose to her feet, spinning towards the blonde and flicking his forehead just beneath his hitai-ate. "Get that dumb look off your face," she said, heading to the white walls that separated her from her home.

Time had seemed to fly by and Deidara was simply too late; Leiko had to go home to prepare for dinner. As she prepared herself for the climb over the gate, she was stopped by a hand at her wrist. She arched her brow as Deidara held her there, his other hand fishing through his leg pouch. He revealed to her his newest piece and her face lit up in delight. It was the most flawless creation yet, a white bird carefully detailed and sculpted in a way that made Leiko half expect the figurine to take flight from the blonde's hand, fragile wings fluttering as it flitted up into the evening sky.

At Leiko's bewildered expression, Deidara couldn't help but smirk triumphantly. She frowned then, rolling her eyes as she gently pocketed the creation. "It's good," she said, "but don't get so cocky!"

Deidara scoffed, "Good, yeah?!" He continued to smirk, nonetheless as he locked his hands together. "I'll help you up," he offered, "I wouldn't forgive ya if you chipped it on your way up, yeah."

Leiko stepped harshly into his palms, smirking right in his leveled face. "Calling me clumsy, yeah?!" She laughed, her hard expression softening. "Thank you, Deidara-san." A smile, not a smirk.

Deidara scoffed, looking away. "You know, _you're_ the stupid one with a dumb look on your face, Leiko-san." He lifted her up and she hoisted herself up to straddle the fence.

She looked down at him briefly. "Leiko. Just call me Leiko, Deidara-san."

He dusted his hands off and soured. "Then drop the "-san" from my name, yeah?"

She smiled again, agreeing, before slipping to the other side. She stood there for a moment, and glanced back at the wall that separated her from Deidara. She turned, brushing her hand against the barrier and wondered if he was still there. He probably had gone home, she thought, they had already parted ways, right? She sighed before heading inside to wash up for supper.

But he was there, wondering the same thing of her.


	3. Chapter 3

A light, grumbling sound rumbled lightly within the girl's chest as Leiko caught herself thoroughly annoyed. She had easily fallen into the routine of jumping the barrier that separated her home from the remainder of Iwagakure, although the only point of interest remained as a certain blonde shinobi proudly bearing beautifully sculpted clay treasures. But as the path of a nin would have it, she began to see less and less of the boy and their meetings had grown more and more brief. So like that fateful day, nearly a year before, Leiko could be found in her manor's courtyard, kicking away cruelly at that horrid, limp ball. And alas, she had swung at it so ferociously that it managed to loll right over the fence and over to the other side. Her heart raced as though in anticipation, half-expecting to be greeted with a fox-like grin and petite prize. But rather, on this day, she had the displeasure of not only scraping her palms and knees on the way up, but also finding her ball in the clutches of a shinobi she couldn't care to have crossed paths with ever again.

It was that horrid girl who had appeared to be the leader of that rather stupid group of kunochis. Leiko had come to learn that her name was Kumade and that she, obviously, had quite the infatuation with her artistic companion. In the academy, she supposedly made the highest marks in her class so that she would always be placed in those that Deidara was taking. An even bigger rumor was that she requested to change her surname to that of her mother's so that she would have the tendency to be seated closer to the boy and hopefully, beside him upon graduation day.

Leiko wouldn't be surprised if the girl had come to this spot, figuring she'd run in to the apple of her eye. Yet, the girl didn't wear that stupid smirk Leiko had supposed was permanently etched onto her face. Rather, she seemed a bit suspicious by the way her eyes shifted from Leiko's face to the ground uncomfortably. Leiko arched her brow in question to the girl's uncharacteristic timidness but didn't voice her concern. Instead, she dropped herself to the other side and marched right up to Kumade, holding her hands out to receive her worn ball. The kunochi returned the item to Leiko, all the while her mouth opening slightly as if to speak but nothing was uttered. Leiko neither bothered nor cared to ask what the girl had to say and made it clear by immediately spinning on her heels and heading right back home, tossing the ball over and into the manor's keep.

"Soseki-san!" Leiko paused, debating whether or not to ignore the kunochi. With an irritated sigh, she turned back to face the girl with a hand haughtily placed on her hip.

"What?"

Kumade flushed with embarrassment and furrowed her brows, an action that made Leiko realize that whatever the girl had to say required her hefty pride to be swallowed. She fished into her leg pouch then and revealed a beautifully wrapped box. She bowed lowly and held it out for Leiko at which she figured it out to be an exquisite box of chocolates. "Soseki-san! Won't you please deliver these to Deidara-kun for me, please?"

Leiko scoffed, waving Kumade off with a lazy hand. "I have better things to do than play messenger." She then proceeded to clamber over the fence and wasted no time slipping over to the other side, happy to be rid of that girl.

But alas, she was caught yet again with a _"wait!"_ and found Kumade perched upon the barrier. "Don't you see?" she said with a hint of desperation gleaming in her wide eyes. "I'd do it myself if Deidara-kun gave any other girl besides _yourself_ the time of day but he really doesn't bother with anyone else."

Leiko huffed, annoyed with the accusation but brushes the comment off. "Please," she said, "he hardly has time for anything besides other than his clay. I think that's plain to see by his reoccurring absences."

Kumade frowned as she glanced down at the box within her grasp then rested a hopeful gaze upon Leiko. "I won't take no for an answer, Soseki-san. I will stay here all night if I must."

Leiko laughed once with a roll of her eyes. "Enough with the dramatics, yeah?" She drew out her hand to seize the elaborate item from the beaming kunochi. "I'll do it, so long as you never bother me with your presence again." Kumade glowered and reluctantly muttered a sincere _"thank you." _And then, she was instantly taken over by aggravation as the little Leiko had managed to sharply flick the nin square in the forehead. Before she could retort, Leiko smirked and simply said, "take that dumb look off your face!"

As the Soseki girl sauntered towards the shelter of the indoors, Kumade felt her enraged expression soften. She had crossed by the two's meeting place numerous times, envious of the relationship Deidara had formed with Iwagakure's new noble and tempted to intervene, hoping to gain the attention of the blonde she so ardently adored. She would catch bits of their teasing banter where they would deem the other more stupid than themselves and finally, they would burst into laughter after comparing the "dumb looks" upon each other's faces. It had become a trademark of sorts for their conversations, and to have Leiko use the phrase on herself allowed Kumade to realize that she had accomplished a task the village gossips had deemed simply impossible.

Believe it or not, on that day, Kumade had managed to melt the heart of the Iwagakure ice princess. And although Leiko was much too stubborn to admit it, she had slowly come to take a liking towards that bold, cocky, yet rather stupid, kunochi.


End file.
